Gone Away
by NotTheShipper
Summary: Grace had not expected that one night would have changed everything
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_ I quickly open the microwave and pulled out the inflated bag inside. I tossed the bag of popcorn onto the counter before it had enough time to burn off the skin on my fingers. I could hear my friends laughing from my bedroom down the hall as I searched for a bowl in the kitchen. I finally found a bowl big enough for the popcorn and poured it in. I grabbed the bowl, shut the kitchen lights off, and hurried my way down the hallway to my bedroom.

"Oh, yum! Popcorn!" said Liz as she stood up and took the bowl from my hands.

"You're welcome," I called back to her. Liz turned around, gave me a kidding smirk, and sat back down.

"You better be sharing, Liz. Some of us want some too. Karen will be here soon and will want some too" said Melissa.

""Oh, hush Mel," said Liz as she passed the bowl over to Melissa. I shut my bedroom door and sat down. I was excited for our girls night. Liz had been my best friend since we were in second grade. She was one of the sassiest, yet nicest girls I had ever met. She had gorgeous red hair that went to the middle of her back. She was awesome. Liz and I met Melissa (Mel) during our time in the play in middle school. Liz and I were part of the stage crew while Mel was one of the actors. Somehow we all three clicked and became friends. While Mel is a grade older than us, she still connects better with us than girls her own age. The final girl that made up our group of four was Karen. Karen was the "baby" of the group. She is a year younger than us, so we treat her like our little sister. We met Karen during my sophomore year of high school. Mel and I were walking past the girl's bathroom when we heard a girl crying. We had went in and saw Karen in there, crying. She had gum in her hair. Mel and I had decided to help her out and get the gum out. The only way to do so was to cut her hair. Since Mel was going to go to beauty school after high school, she cut Karen's hair to make her look adorable. Ever since then, Karen had joined the crew. I absolutely loved these girls and couldn't picture my life without them.

"Hey, Grace." I looked up to Mel from spacing out. "Can we change the station on the radio? I'm really not diggin' this 80's crap."

"Yea, go ahead," I replied as Mel got up and changed the station.

"Stop here," said Liz to Mel. "This is a good channel." Mel sat back down on the floor and started smiling.

"Bobby Jake. I love his music!" exclaimed Mel and she started swaying back and forth. I picked up my nail filing and started filing my nails while listening to the wonderful music of Bobby Jake. _"You take me to a wonder place where I'm left to think. Live for this and take it in. What do you want when this adventure ends?" _

I hear my phone vibrate from the floor next to me. It was Karen

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Karen. Will you let me in? I don't want to ring the doorbell and wake your dad and Amber?"

"Sure. I'll be right there." I hung up the phone and got up.

"Karen's here. I'll be right back." Mel and Liz smiled and nodded has I walked out of my room.

I went down the hallway, through the kitchen, into the living room to the front door. I opened the door to see Karen standing there in her pink footie pj's, her pillow, blanket, and bag. I didn't only notice that her hair was a mess, but I also noticed that her eyes mascara was running.

"Karen. What's wrong?" I asked as I let her in.

"Fucking, Pete. He's such an ass. He just…just…" Before Karen could finish her sentence, she broke down. I took her bag and lead her to my room with the other girls. When we got there, Liz and Mel stood up and welcomed Karen in.

"Karen, why are you crying? What happened?" Liz and Mel continued to ask her questions. Karen took her blanket and sat down on the floor, head in her hands. I tossed her bag on my bed and sat down beside her. Liz grabbed a box of tissues while Mel sat down too.

"Karen, tell us what's wrong," I said as I tried to comfort her.

"Pete. He dumped me," Karen said in between sniffles.

"Dumped you? Why?" asked Liz.

"Because of Lauren, his ex. She decided she needed to flaunt her ass around this town again. She came back from college and her and Pete hooked back up." Karen buried her face into a handful of tissues.

"Why is she even back? I thought they were officially done a long time ago," replied Mel.

"Apparently he wanted her again," said Karen. Pete was two years older than Karen. He was Mel's age. He went to our high school and was dating Lauren for the longest time. Pete hooked up and started dating Karen while he and Lauren were on a "break". While he was dating Karen, Pete and Lauren had gotten together a few times, but he had promised Karen it was over between him and Lauren when the graduated high school. After he graduated, He got a full time job while Karen finished her junior and senior year. Lauren had gone to a college 12 hours away. This was the first time I had heard that Lauren had come back from college. Now I guess her and Pete were back together.

"Oh god, Karen. Just forget about him. He wasn't any good for you anyways," I said. "You deserve better."

"Yea, right," replied Karen. All four of us sat on the floor in silence. We had all gone through something tragic where we needed comfort. Liz's older brother was killed in a car accident, Mel's grandparents died, my parents divorced, and now Karen had been dumped by her first boyfriend.

"Well, I know what we need," I said as I stood up. I walked over to my closet and pulled out a box from the back. I open the box and bulled out two bottles of wine and four glasses. This was our emergency kit. We always kept it at my house because I had the parents who cared the least. I poured the wine into the glasses, handed them out, and sat down.

We spent the next two hours giggling, talking, drinking, doing our hair and nails, listening to music, and just having fun. I walked over to the radio and turned it up when I heard who was playing next.

"Are you serious, Grace? This song is so old," Liz complained.

"Yea, well I don't care. I grew up listening to this group," I replied as I turned the volume up. The radio station was playing Gone Away, my favorite band. I started listening to the band in elementary school. At that time, the members of Gone Away were teenagers. Now they were all grown men with families.

"I can't believe you ever liked them," Liz said as I sat down.

"They're not that bad," Karen replied while taking a sip of wine. The wine seemed to be helping Karen. She no longer cried or talked about Pete.

_"That, ladies and gentlemen, was Glazed by Gone Away. If you enjoyed listening to Gone Away back in the day, then you'll appreciate this. Gone Away will be performing at Smith's Theater in two weeks and we had your ticket. This performance is private and tickets were handing out to certain people. Do you want the ticket we have? Then be our fifteenth caller now!"_

My mouth dropped and all the girls turned to me when the announcer was done talking.

"You guys I need to go!," I exclaimed as I grabbed my phone. Liz, Mel, and Karen just stared at me while I tried to dial the number with my shaking hands.

"Hun, do you know how many people are trying to call?" asked Mel.

"I don't care," I yelled back as I hit redial. After a few rings I heard a familiar voice.

"_Hello there! You're our fifteenth caller!"_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I could barely breathe when I placed my phone back on the floor. I couldn't believe it! I was going to be seeing Gone Away in two weeks. How was this even possible? I looked at the girls who were all staring at me, smiling.

"Oh my holy hell," said Karen. "You fucking won. What are the odds?" I just shook my head. I had no words. There was only one thing I could think of doing. I stood up, got on my bed and started jumping and screaming.

"YES! I FREAKIN' WON! I'M GOING TO SEE GONE AWAY! AHHHHHH" I jumped and danced on my bed while laughing and crying at the same time. This had to be a dream. Reality struck when I heard someone walking upstairs. I quickly hoped of my bed and hid the wine bottles and glasses just before my bedroom door opened.

"What the hell is going on in here?" asked a horrid voice. I turned to see Amber, my stepmother, standing in my doorway, giving me the evil eye. I hated her so much.

"Nothing, Amber," replied Mel, smiling.

"Well you need to keep it down before I send the girls home. Grace, you know not to be that loud anyway." Amber turned and shut my bedroom door.

"Bitch," I mumbled under my breath.

"Ya know, I think I'm going to bed anyways," said Liz. "It's been a long night."

"Yea, me too," I said as I handed Karen her bag that was on my bed. I crawled into my bed while the other girls got into their sleeping bags on the floor. I shut the lights off and shut my eyes. I still couldn't believe what had happened. I just hoped I wouldn't wake in the morning and realize it was all a dream.

The two weeks had seemed to drag on. Knowing that was going to be seeing my favorite band was one of the most exciting and scary feelings in the world. Thoughts were constantly going through my head. "_What if they don't like me?" "Will I get to meet them?" "What will I wear?"_ Part of me just wanted that night to be over.

One of the hardest things I had to do within those two weeks was to convince my dad and Amber to let me go. Neither of them understood how important this was to me.

"Grace, you're not going to go Smith's Theater. Do you realize how far it is? Who's going with you?"

"Dad, I'm old enough to go by myself. I'm eighteen. I've graduated from high school. I'm going to be at college alone. The theater is only 3 hours away. I'll take a train and get there in no time. It's fine. I can go by myself."

"I just don't think so, Grace." Oh course, Amber had to put her opinion in too.

"Well, I think this is ridiculous. Grace knows she's too young to go alone and the trains are never safe. They're disgusting." I wasn't too worried about getting approval from Amber. She meant nothing to me.

"Dad! I'll be fine! I have the money for a ticket. I'll get the train ticket, go to the concert, and then get right back on the train to come back home. It'll be fine." After a few hours of arguing and convincing, my dad had finally given in.

"Fine, Grace. You can go. But you better be careful. You're my only daughter and I don't want anything happening to you. You better keep us informed on what's going on too."  
That was it. I was going to Smith's Theater. Now I just needed to get myself together and get an outfit.

"Well, what were you thinking of wearing?" Karen asked me as we sat with Liz and Mel in the in the food court.

"I don't even know. Something cute and comfortable. Maybe some shorts and a t-shirt." I really had no idea what I wanted to wear.

"Well, I'm sure you can find something, said Liz. "We better clean up this mess and go find something." We all cleared up the mess we had on the table and threw our garbage in the trash. I grabbed my purse off the back of the chair and threw it over my shoulder. The four of us made our way through the mall.

"This is going to suck. I never look good in anything," I said as I glanced through the windows of the stores.

"Oh, please. Grace, you'll look great," said Liz.

"Hey, let's going to into _Janet's Boutique_," said Karen as we stopped in front of the store.

"Yea, the clothes are cheap and they look great!" replied Mel as she started walking into the store.

"Okay," I said with a smirk. "Let the hunt begin!"

I started browsing through the racks. Everything I looked at didn't seem right. I didn't want to look too skanky, but I didn't want to look like an old woman either. This was hopeless. I walked over to another rack and pulled out a pair of denim shorts. They were actually cute. Not too short so I'd look like a hooch but not too long either. All of a sudden I heard Mel yell from across the store. "I found a shirt!"

I walked over to wear Mel was standing. She turned around and showed me what she had in her hand.

"Oh my gosh. Mel, that's cute!" She was holding a yellow tank top. It was loosely fit with the back braided.

"Isn't it? Now go try it on," Mel exclaimed as she pushed me into the dressing room. I took the shorts off the hanger and put them on. Not too bad. I took the tank off the hanger and slipped it over my head. Right when I slipped it on I heard someone yell at me from the other side of my dressing room door.

"Hey, Grace, try these on with it." I looked down and saw Liz slide a pair of shoes under the door. I picked up the box off the floor and took the lid off. Inside was a part of cute black flats with a bow on top. I slide the shoes on and walked out of the dressing room.

"Grace, you look amazing! I think you've found your concert outfit!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I got home and tossed my bag from _Janet's Boutique_ on the couch as I went into the kitchen. Amber was sitting at the island in the kitchen when I walked in. Shouldn't she be at work?

"Oh, Grace. Where have you been?" she asked.

"At the mall with the girls. I wanted to find an outfit for the concert. What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I'm on break. I shouldn't actually get going," Amber said as she stood up from the stool. "Oh, and I don't know why you needed to go shopping. Your dad buys you enough shit anyways." Amber turned and walked out the door. If I could take her by the hair and put her in the garbage disposal, I would.

I grabbed my bag from the living room and heading down the hall to my room. I no longer got in there when I heard my dad yell from upstairs.

"Grace, come up to the office."

I got up to the office and knocked on his door. "Yea, dad?"

"Grace, I wanted to go over your schedule for tomorrow. I want to make sure you have everything." I grabbed a chair and sat down next to my dad.

"Okay, well, the train leaves from the station at one. The train will go to Mayville and from there I'll catch another train to Lancton."

"Okay. What about when you get to Lancton? How far is the theater from the train station?"

I sat in silence for a bit to think about it. "I think it's a couple miles away."

My dad looked at me concerned. "You're not walking to the theater. You'll need to take a cab."

"I will, dad. I wasn't planning on walking."

"Great. Okay, so you'll get to Lancton at about five because you'll have to wait for your connecting train in Mayville. The concert starts at seven, correct?"

I nodded.

"Okay, then you'll have time to grab dinner somewhere. Try to find a place near the theater. That way you could take a cab to the restaurant and then maybe just walk to the theater from there."

I nodded again. My dad was so cautious about this.

"What about coming home?" he asked.

"Well," I replied, "The train from Lancton leaves at ten thirty. I'll get a cab right after the concert and head to the train station. I'll take the train to Mayville again and then back here."

My dad nodded in approval. "You said Mel was going to pick you up from the train station, right? I want to make sure you're not stranded there."

"Nope, she's going to pick me up," I assured him.

"Alright. Well, it sounds like you have everything in order. Just make sure you're safe." My dad reached over for his wallet on the desk. "Here, I want to make sure you have enough money with you." He handed me $60.

"Dad, I-I-I really don't need any money. I have enough."

"No. I want you to take it. If anything happens, anything at all, I want to call me."

I nodded and slipped the money in my pocket.

I stood up and hugged him. "Thanks, dad," I turned and walked back downstairs to my room.

When I got to my room I slipped the money into my wallet with my other money. I took my new clothes out of my bag and sat them on my bed. This was it. My emotions were flying in all sorts of directions. I was scared about traveling alone. I was excited and nervous to meet my favorite band. I wasn't even sure what the feel now. I was done thinking about it. No time to turn back now.

Later that night, as I was in bed, I heard my phone vibrate from my nightstand. It was Karen.

"Hey girl. Have fun 2morrow. Dont make an embarrassment of urself ;)"

"lol thanks, Kanen :p"

I then drifted to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_"Train 4873 to Mayville is now boarding."_

I grabbed my stuff and headed to the train. I had never seen the train station this busy. What the heck. I boarded the train and sat down. I checked my purse to make sure I had all my things. Money, phone, camera, and tickets. Yup, that was it. After a while the train started moving. A smile slid across my face.

"Well, you look happy about something." I looked over to the girl sitting across from me.

"Yea, I am," I said as I smiled bigger.

"Where are you heading to?" she asked.

"To Lancton. I'm going to see Gone Away at the Smith's Theater."

The girl looked up in surprise. "Gone Away? How did you get tickets to that? I heard it was pretty much invitation only."

I laughed. "It is, but I won tickets off the radio."

"Lucky girl," she said as she placed her ear buds in her ear.

The rest of the train ride to Mayville and then to Lancton was calm. No worries and stress. Once I got to Lancton, I found a cab in front of the train station.

"What is the nearest restaurant next to Smith's Theater?" I asked the cab driver when I got in.

"The Brock Café is right down the street. It's the closest thing to the Theater besides Smith's restaurant, but that place is always filled with people," replied the cab driver.

"That's fine." Brock Café will be great." The cab driver pulled away from the curb and headed down the street. Even though the Café was only a couple miles away, it took us twenty minutes to get there. Lancton wasn't that big of a town, but with Gone Away playing at the theater, the traffic and city were busy.

"Here you are," said the cab driver as he pulled up to the curb.

"Thanks," I said as I handed him the money and got out of the cab. I walked into the café and found a table. The waiter walked up to my table to take my order.

I could barely eat my food because I was so nervous. The concert was going to be starting in ninety minutes. When I was done, I sat in my chair looking around. As I was sipping my coke, I noticed a blonde guy sitting on the other side of the restaurant. He was wearing a white button down shirt, a navy blue sweater, and red jeans. I stared at him for a while. He was sitting with another guy in a booth. His friend must have said something because the blonde guy let out an obnoxious and loud laugh. I started giggling to myself. I had never heard someone laugh like that before. I looked at my phone. I have an hour left. I should probably head to the theater. I took my bill to the cashier, paid, and walked out the door. The air was humid and heavy. That was summer in the Midwest for you.

I got to Smith's Theater and walked in. The theater was decent sized, but not big enough for a huge concert. I noticed a merch table against the wall. I walked over and looked at the things they had for sale. I noticed a shirt hanging on the wall. It was a simple black shirt that had "GONE AWAY" written on it. Since my dad had given me extra money, I decided to get the shirt. After I got the shirt, I went to stand by the wall. I slipped the shirt on over my tank. The shirt was bigger than I wanted. It went down to the bottom of my butt. I took a hair tie out of my purse and tied it up in the back. That was better. I put my purse back over my shoulder and went over to the ticket takers. I handed the man my ticket and he let me in. my excitement was building higher and higher. This was it. The concert was free seating, so I decided to take one of the few chairs left in the second row since the first row was filled. I now had thirty minutes left to wait. I got out my phone and sent a text to my dad, Karen, Liz, and Mel, letting them know I was here and safe.

Once seven came, the lights went out. People started screaming and standing. I stood up and started clapping. I wanted to jump and scream. A few minutes later, the lead singer of Gone Away came on stage with the other members behind him. I started jumping up and down, waving my hands in the air. I took my camera out of my purse and started snapping photos. This was something I really wanted to remember. After about half an hour of dancing and singing, people were starting to go near the stage. _When will I ever get this chance again?_ I asked myself as I made my way toward the stage. Once I was up by the stage, people were pushing and yelling, trying to touch the members' hands. I reached my hand out and waved it in front of me. All of a sudden, one of the members came up to where I was standing and held my hand. I about passed out from anxiety and excitement. _HE TOUCHED ME! HE TOUCHED ME!_ I yelled to myself. I continued to dance and sing with the huge group of people around me. This had to be one of the best nights of my life. I looked around to the people by me when I saw a familiar face. The blonde guy from the café. He was standing next to me in the mob of people. He was even cuter up close. Without even realizing it, I felt myself falling in his direction. I felt an arm grab me as I tried to steady myself. I looked up to see the blonde guy holding my arm.

"You okay?" he asked.

I smile and nodded. "Yea, thanks." He smiled back and started dancing again. I couldn't tell from all the noise, but it sounded like he had an accent. After the song ended, I looked over at the blonde guy just as he was looking at me.

"There's a lot of crazy people her," he said as he fixed his sweater.

"You're telling me, I said back. I didn't know what to say. I was one of the most awkward people to be around. I never knew what to say to guys. The music started up again and I started dancing again.

The concert ended an hour later. The mob of people all started walking away at once. I tried to get out of the mob, but it was impossible. I somehow made my way to the door, but not without pushing and pulling from everyone around me. When I could finally see some light and breathe my own air, I got out of the concert hall and walked over by the merch table. I needed to get myself together. That had been the best concert of my life. What a night! I got my phone out to check the time. I had an hour and a half to get a cab and get to the train station. I was about ready to leave when I saw the singers of Gone Away coming out of the concert hall. I ran over to where they were and pushed my way through the people.

"Oh my gosh! Can get a picture please?" I kept shouting. Finally, the singers agreed and took my picture with them. Once I got out of the group of people and my pictures, I heard a voice from the intercom.

_ "….Please take caution and stand by for further announcements."_

I looked around but nobody seemed too worried about anything that was going on. I turned around when I heard a voice behind me.

"Looks like you made it out alive."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Yea, I guess I did," I giggled as I smiled at the blonde man. I was right, he did have an accent. An Irish one.

He smiled as he continued, "Yea, I saw you trying to make your way out of the hall. Good thing you didn't get trampled!"

I wasn't sure what to say to this guy. Who was he? We stood in silence for the longest minute of my life before he spoke again.

"I'm Niall, by the way," he said as he held out his hand with his other hand in his pocket. I took his hand cautiously.

"I'm Grace," I replied. His shake was firm and his hands were soft. As he smiled, I could see a light ring around his teeth. Braces.

"Grace. That's a nice name. Where are you from, Grace?"

"I'm from Valentine. It's a few towns over."

Niall nodded. I was getting ready to ask Niall where he was from when I felt a vibrate from my pocket. My phone. I pulled my phone out my pocket and checked the I.D. Mel.

"Hello? Mel"

"Grace! Have you heard about the train?"

I was confused. "What do you mean"

"I checked your train schedule again to make sure I'd be there on time to pick you up and it said that your train is delayed right now."

"Delayed? What do you mean?"

Grace signed. "It means that your train isn't going to come on time. There wasn't even a time up that said when the train might be there. It's because of the weather."

"The weather? What's going on with the weather?"

"Grace! Haven't you looked outside? It's a mess! Go look!" I stayed on the phone with Mel as I walked over the front doors of the theater and looked outside. It was a mess! The rain was coming down like crazy, the lightning looked pretty dangerous, and the wind was blowing like crazy!

"Holy shit. When did this start?" I asked into the phone.

"About 45 minutes ago. It'll hopefully stop within the next half hour. You should be able to get on the train once it stops."

"I hope so."

"Be careful though, Grace. I guess there are power lines and trees down everywhere."

"Okay, Mel. I'll keep an eye out and I'll keep checking the website. Thanks for calling."

"No problem, Grace. St…" Mel cut off. I had lost signal from the storm.

I turned around and walked back over to where Niall was standing. He looked confused. "Well, it looks like my train will be coming late. I guess I'm going to be hanging out here until the storm lessens up and I can get to the station." I realized that I sounded a bit desperate after I said that.

"Well, if you're not in a hurry you can join me upstairs at the grill. We can grab a drink or something while we wait."

I waited and thought it through. I could either sit down in the lobby, alone, and wait to hear about my train, or I could go upstairs with this strange blonde man named Niall. "Sure," I replied, "I'll join you."

A smile grew across his face, showing the lining from his braces. "Awesome! Follow me."

I followed Niall over to the elevator in the bottom floor of the hall. He pushed the button and we waited for the ding of the elevator. When the doors opened, I followed Niall into the elevator. The doors closed and he pushed the button labeled '4'. The ride up was quick as we walked off the elevator when the doors opened. Niall led the way over the grill and found us a booth inside. I slid into the seat across from Niall. This should be fun.

The waitress came over to take our order. "What would you two like this evening?"

Niall smiled at the waitress as he ordered. "I'll just have a water and a blueberry muffin."

He turned to me as in saying "_Your turn."_

"I'll have a hot chocolate with whipped cream, please." I smiled as the waitress nodded and turned to walk away. I turned my head and looked over the table to Niall. He leaned forward and folded his hands in front of him on the table.

"So, Grace. Tell me about yourself," Niall said as he stared at me.

"What do you wanna know?" I asked.

Niall smiled. "Anything. Tell me about your life at home."

I sighed. "Well…" I stopped when the waitress brought our things. She set them on the table and turned away. I started again. "Well, I live with my dad and his wife Amber. My parents divorced when I was fourteen and I'm an only child." I stopped talking and looked up at Niall. He was pulling apart his muffin, still staring at me.

"I'm listening," he assured me.

"I have a main group of four friends. Liz has been my friend forever. She's heading to her aunts camp in the fall to be a peer counselor. She didn't want to go to college. Mel is a year older than us. She'll be at her second year of beauty school in Mayville. Karen is a year younger than us and she's going to be a senior. That's about it." I took a sip of my hot chocolate. Hot.

I heard Niall chuckle from across the table. "What is it?" I asked.

"You have whipped cream on your nose." Niall took his napkin and reached across the table and wiped the whipped cream off my nose.

I started blushing. "Thanks," I muttered.

Niall sat back down and looked at me. "What about you, Grace? What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to college in the fall. I'm stuck between schools right now. I'm not sure if I want to go to a university in Boston or attend a community college in Valentine." I looked deep at Niall. I hadn't realized how beautiful his eyes were. They were like a perfect shade of blue. Not too dark, but not too light. They reminded me of the reflecting light that happens when the sun hits water.

"That's interesting," Niall said. "I hope you make the choice that's best for you."

I smiled.

"What about you, Niall. Don't think you're going to get off that easily. Tell me about yourself. I notice you have an accent. Where are you from?"

Niall sighed, folded his hands into his lap, and leaned back into the booth. "I'm from Ireland. I just finished up my studies back home and this trip was kind of like an award for myself. I have one older brother."

I nodded in understanding. "So, how did you end up getting tickets to Gone Away? It was an invitation only concert."

"My brother's friend is cousins with one of the members of the band. He got my tickets." He paused, "how did you get tickets?"

I smiled at Niall. "I won them off the radio. I was the fifteenth caller."

He smiled back. "I like it when you smile," he replied.

I blushed and looked down. I took my phone out and checked the time. I completely lost track of time. My train should be leaving in fifteen minutes. I quickly hit the internet button on my phone and went to the train website. While I was waiting for the page to load, I looked up and saw Niall finishing the last of his muffin. When the page loaded, I check my itinerary. What the hell. I read the bold printing at the top of the page.

_Due to weather conditions and electric issues, Train 1653 to Mayville has been cancelled and will not be running tonight. _

_Please continue to check the page to see when the next train will be heading to Mayville. _

I looked up worried and puzzled. Niall must have noticed because he asked me what was wrong.

"My train has been cancelled. I can't get home tonight." I didn't know what to do. There was no way I was going to get home and I wasn't going to have Mel drive 4 hours to pick me up.

"What are you going to do?" asked Niall. "Where are you going to stay? You certainly can't drive back."

I shrugged. I didn't know what I was going to do.

"You can stay with me," Niall said. I have a suite at the hotel connected to the theater. There's a sofa you can stay on."

Stay? With Niall? I barely knew him. I couldn't do that.

"Oh, Niall I don't think that's necessary. I'll be f…." He cut me off.

"What are you going to do? You need to be safe." He had a serious look on his face.

"Well, I don't want to make this a big deal for you. I'll get a motel room somewhere."

"No," Niall said, "you can stay with me. It's totally fine."

I thought about it for a while. "Fine, I'll stay. As long as it's okay. I'll take the sofa."

Niall smiled at my response. "Grace, I wouldn't have offered if it was going to be that big of a deal. You can stay."

I smiled a half smile. "Thanks. I need to make a phone call. I'll be right back." I got up and walked out of the grill, into the hallway. I dialed Mel's number.

"Hello?" Mel answered.

"Mel, it's Grace. My train was canceled for tonight, so I can't come home until tomorrow. I'm going to call my dad and tell him that I'm going to stay at your house tonight when I get back in town."

Mel was silent. "So you're not coming home? What time are you coming home tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know, that way you know when to pick me up from the station."

"Oh, Grace. Is that going to work? You know how your dad is."

"Yea, I know. I'll be able to convince him."

"Grace, where are you going to be staying?"

I couldn't tell her I was staying at a stranger's house. "I'm staying at a hotel."

"Okay," Mel said. "Stay safe and keep me informed."

"I will. Bye, Mel." I hung up and dialed my dad's number. Here goes nothing.

He answered after the first ring.

"Hello? Grace? What's going on?"

"Hey, dad, I was just telling you that I'm going to stay at Mel's house tonight when I get into town."

"What? Why? Just come home."

I took a deep breath. "Dad, I don't want to wake you that late at night. Besides, I'd rather stay at her house. I'm going to be too tired anyways." I was hoping her would buy it.

"Well, I guess that makes sense. Just be careful, okay?"

"Yes, dad, I know. I love you. Bye"

"Bye, sweetie. I love you." I hung up and turned around just as Niall was walking out of the grill.

"Ready?" he asked.

"I need to go pay quick," I said.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I took care of it. Let's go." He placed his hand in the middle of my back and led me to the elevators. We got in and rode up to the next floor. We got out and Niall led the two of us down the hall to his hotel room. We stopped in front of a door at the very end of the hall. Room 118. I watched as Niall reached to his back pocket and fished his wallet out of his jeans. He opened it and took out his keycard. He folded his wallet and put it back into his back pocket. He looked up at me with his water reflecting eyes and smiled. There. I could see the braces again. He slid the keycard into the slot on the door and turned the knob.

"Well, here we are."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I walked into the room behind Niall. He flipped the lights on from behind me. His suite was beautiful, like a cozy apartment. I could tell that he had been there at least a couple of days because a men's cologne scent still lingered in the air. It went a sweet, yet masculine smell. I walked farther into the room. I noticed the sofa in the middle with of the living room and two hallways down either side of the room. Niall came up and stood beside me.

"I'm sorry I don't have a guest room," he said.

"Oh, it's fine. I'll crash on the couch," I said as I sat down. Niall came over and sat on the chair across from the couch. He didn't say anything; he just sat there, hands folded in his lap. We sat in silence until we saw the lights turn off, and then back on.

"Whoa. Looks like the storm is knocking out power," he said as he looked up. I smiled back at him. I hated storms. This was going to be a long night if the storm was going to continue. "Would you like anything to drink?" Niall asked. "I have bottled water, some juice, and coffee. I'd have beer but, you know, America." The side of his lips went up as he gave a half smile.

I smiled back. "Bottle water would be good, thanks." I watched as Niall got up and walked over to the fridge. He opened it up and pulled out a bottle of water. He came back over and handed it to me. Right as he handed the bottle to me, a loud crack of thunder rang through the hotel room. I jumped. Niall laughed.

"Looks like someone's afraid of a little thunder," Niall teased as I looked up.

"I'm not that afraid. I just don't like storms that much," I replied. I took the cap off the water bottle and took a drink. Refreshing. I stood up and faced Niall.

"So, where is the bathroom in here? I've never been in a hotel like this before."

"Well," Niall started. "Down this hallway is the bathroom." He pointed and turned to the other side of the living room where there was another hallway. "And down here is my room. There's an extra toothbrush in the bathroom. I'm assuming you didn't bring one." He looked at me. I shook my head.

"Okay. There's towels in there too if you need to shower or anything. There might be robe too, I'm not sure. I'll grab some blankets for you."

I smiled, picked up my purse, and walked to the bathroom. I didn't really want to take a shower, but I had been sweating at the concert. I closed the bathroom door and locked it behind me. I sat my purse on the floor and opened the cabinets, looking for towels. I finally found some and noticed the robe on the back of the door. Perfect. I started the shower as I slipped out of my clothes. Here I was, standing in the shower of a stranger's hotel room, naked. I would only imagine what my dad would have said if he had known where I actually was. I continued my shower and shut the water off. I grabbed a towel to wrap my hair and a towel to wrap around me. I searched the bathroom for the toothbrush and toothpaste. I also found a hairbrush in a welcome bag from the hotel. I might as well use it. I brushed my teeth and unwrapped my hair to brush it. I was looking in the mirror when it hit me. I had no clothes to wear to bed. I started to panic. What the hell was I going to do? I looked at my clothes on the floor and picked up my Gone Away t-shirt. I guess I could wear this to bed. I took my towel off and slide the shirt over my head. That would work. I took the robe off the hook from behind the door, put it on, and tied it. I figured this would be okay. I was picking up my clothes and purse on the floor when I realized I wouldn't have any underwear to wear the next day. Shit. I planned this trip perfectly. I opened the door and walked slowly into the hallway. The lights went off again. I wanted to cry. Nothing seemed to be going right. I started walking down the hallway when the lights turned back on. Thank God. I walked into the living room and saw Niall sitting on the chair. He turned and smiled at me.

"What's wrong?' he asked. He must have noticed my facial expression of worry.

What was I going to tell him? I was out of underwear? "Well, I was wondering if there was any place I could do my laundry quick. I need to wash my clothes for tomorrow."

"Sure thing," he said as me picked up the phone off the table by the chair. He muttered something into the phone and set it back down on the table. "One of the housekeeping ladies will be right up to take your clothes and wash them. She'll bring them back in the morning.

"Thanks, Niall," I said as I smiled and set the clothes down next to me on the couch.

"I see the shower worked for you," he said looking at me. What the fuck did that even mean? How do you respond to that? I smiled back. We sat in silence as the lights flickered on and off again numerous times. There was suddenly a knock at the door. Thank goodness, something to break the silence.

Niall quickly got up and grabbed my clothes as he headed for the door. He opened it, handed my clothes to the lady, and smiled as he shut the door. He came over and stood by the couch.

"Here's your blankets. Do you need anything else?" he smiled.

"Nope, I should be good. Thanks again, Niall. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, love," he said as me placed his hand on my shoulder and then walked down the hallway. That accent. It gave me goose bumps.

I got the blankets all ready and took my robe off. I slide under the blankets and grabbed my phone from my purse. I didn't have a charger, so I shut it off and placed it on the table by the couch. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until now. I shut my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I woke the next morning when I heard a knock at the door. I didn't bother looking until I heard a sleepy, Irish voice at the door.

"Thanks, ma'am." Niall. I sat up and peaked behind from behind the couch. Oh goodness. Niall was barefoot and wearing grey sweatpants that hung loosely from his hips. I could see a faint v line near the waistband of his sweats. He looked hot. He carelessly walked over to the table and put my clothes down. He turned, took his hand and ran it through his hair as he stumbled down the hallway back to his room. Sleepy Niall was my favorite Niall I had seen so far. I lay back down and looked at the window. The sun was shining though the curtains. What time was it? I checked the clock on the wall across the room. Nine thirty. I didn't want to get up, but I had to. I pulled the blankets off of myself and sat up. I stood up and slung the robe over my shoulders. I walked over to the table and picked up my clothes as I made me way down the hallway to the bathroom. I went into the bathroom, changed my clothes, brushed my hair and teeth, and walked back out. I heard my stomach grumbled and realized that I was hungry. Niall wouldn't care if I made some food. I found some cereal in the cabinet and milk in the fridge. I poured some in a bowel and sat down at the island. I was eating when I heard Niall come out of his room down the hall. I finished my last bite as he walked into the kitchen. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark V-neck t shirt. How did the guy that I just saw in sweatpants turn into this? I placed my bowl in the sink and smiled. "I was hungry," I said.

Niall smiled as he poured himself a bowl of cereal and made some toast. "That's fine, love. Help yourself." I sat back down on a stool at the island. When his toast was done, Niall sat down across from me at the island.

"So, Niall, when do you go back to Ireland?" I asked. I might as well have a conversation.

"I haven't decided yet," he said between bites. "Sometime. I'm not in a hurry to get back home." I smiled. How could he not miss being home? He was so far away.

"So what are your plans today?" He caught me by surprise.

"I'm heading back home. Oh, shit! I need to check my train schedule." I ran over to my phone and started turning it on. Hurry up!

"Here," Niall said as he handed me his Mac. "Use this." I took the computer and went to the train's website. My next train wasn't set to leave until two. I looked at the clock. It was now ten thirty. I still had a few of hours. I closed the computer and went back to sitting at the island with Niall.

"What times your train leaving?" he asked as he finished his breakfast.

"At two. I'll probably just head to the station whenever and wait." Niall looked at me and was about to say something when my phone started beeping. Ten beeps. Ten missed calls. A chime noise came from my phone. A text message too. I walked over to my phone and checked it. Oh, shit. Seven of the missed calls were from my dad; the other three were from Mel. I checked the text message I had. My stomach dropped. Shit.

"I'll pick you up at Mel's at 12. –Dad"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"What are ya going to do?" Niall asked as he came down and sat next to me on the sofa.

"I don't even know," I replied. I buried my face into my hands. We sat in silence for a while. I was screwed. What was I going to do? There was nothing I could do. My dad was going to find out I was lying. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at a dorky smile that Niall had on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"I got it! I'll drive you back!" said Niall.

"How the hell are you going to do that, Niall? I live 4 hours away? I don't think I can get there in one hour."

He did a faint smile. "Well, why don't you tell your dad not to come get you? Just make something up. Then you'll get home in time and he won't know." I could do that I guess. I took my phone out to text my dad.

"You don't need to get me at Mel's. I'm at the mall with her. Idk wen ill be back to her house."

I hope it works. There was an immediate chime from my phone.

"Are you sure? When will you be home?"

"IDK, dad. Sometime tonight. I'll just call you later."

There. That was done with.

"Okay, I told him I'll be home later tonight. Now I just need to get to the train station. I'll go call a taxi." I went to dial the number to the cab company when Niall put his hand over my phone. "What are you doing?"

"Don't call," Niall said, 'I'll drive you."

I was confused. "How in the world are you going to drive me?"

Niall took his hand off my phone and smiled proudly at himself. "My friend has a car. I'll borrow it. He won't care. C'mon, it'll be fun. Kind of like a little road trip." I continued to look at him. He was absolutely insane.

"Niall, I…" He cut me off

"No, I'll take you. You go get ready and I'll call my friend." I didn't say anything. I slide my phone into my pocket, still looking at Niall, and picked my purse up off the couch. I slowly turned and walked down the hallway. It's official. Niall was absolutely mad.

I came out of the bathroom and walked down the hallway to the living room. Niall was standing by the island. He was wearing the same clothes he had been, but only now he had on a black snapback. Oh, wow. How adorable.

"Ready?" he asked as he shut the lights off in the kitchen.

"I suppose so," I replied. I didn't know what to think about this. Niall opened the door for me to leave. As I walked past him I got a smell of his cologne. Something sweet, yet manly. Niall walked out behind me and shut the door. I followed him down the hallway, into the elevator, and then into the lobby of the hotel. We didn't say anything the entire way. There wasn't anything to say. I followed Niall out the front door of the hotel. It was hot outside and the sun burned down on us. I followed Niall down the sidewalk. Where was the car at? I saw Niall reach into his pocket and pull out a set of keys. He aimed the keys at a car and I saw the lights flicker on and off. It was a sleek, black car.

"Here we are," Niall said as he opened the door for me. "Hop in!" I slide inside the car and Niall shut the door. It smelled like a new car and had black leather seats. I buckled my seatbelt as Niall got in the driver side. He buckled his belt and fixed the mirrors. He started the car and sat back. "Ready?" he asked as he turned to me. I nodded and Niall slide on a pair of black sunglasses. 'Okay, then. Here we go." Niall slowly turned onto the street. We were off for out four hour journey. I watched as Niall drive with caution. As he turned to get onto the interstate, he allowed the wheel to slide in his hand. He was adorable. Everything about him seemed to mesmerize me.

"Niall, do you know how to get there?" I asked. I haven't even thought about it.

"Oh, right," he said as he turned on the GPS. "Why don't you type in the address?" I took the GPS and typed in the train stations address. There was no way I was going to let him drop me off in front of my house. I set the GPS and checked the time. Three hours and fifty-five minutes away. Fantastic. I texted Mel to let her know what time to pick me up at the train station.

We didn't speak a word to each other for a good hour. There wasn't much to say. I just know that I wanted to get home. I looked down at my phone when I felt it vibrate. "Low Battery" Shit. "Niall, do you have a phone charger in here?" I asked. I doubt he would even know.

"Uh, yea. I think he keeps some in here." Niall reached over to the glove compartment. I felt his hand brush across my thigh as he went to open the compartment. His hand was so soft. He fished around inside before pulling out a long cord. "Here, love," he said as he plugged it in. I took the other end and plugged it into my phone. Perfect. I sat my phone in my lap and starred ahead.

"I've seen you before," I said, trying to break the silence.

Niall looked over at me. He raised one of his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

I smiled. "Before the concert. I saw you in that café next to the theater. You were with some guy."

"Oh, okay," Niall said smiling. "That was my friend Nathan. He's the one who let me use his car."

"Is Nathan American?"

"Yea," replied Niall. "I met him when I was visiting New York a year ago. We met up here before the concert. He's a good guy." I nodded and smiled. "So, Grace, you were talking about going to a university. What's stopping you from going?"

"Nothing really. I'm just not sure which one to go to. I can go to one far away and get a good education, or I can go to a small community college and save money by living at home."

Niall nodded in understanding. "Okay."

"What about you, Niall?" I asked, "Are you going to go to a university?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't really like school. I think I'll just wait and see how things work out." I nodded and starred ahead. He caught me off guard with his next question. "Tell me about your step mom."

"What?" Why would he want to know about her?

"You don't seem to like her. Why?"

I sighed. "She doesn't like me either. We never liked each other. He first husband died right after they were married. She never had any kids of her own."

"Why'd your dad marry her then?"

"Because he thought she was perfect. I don't get it. She's like an evil demon woman." Niall chuckled at my comment.

"Well, what about your mom? Why isn't she with your dad?"

I paused and looked forward. I hated thinking about it.

"Look, Grace, you don't have to tell me. I was just curi…"

"No," I cut him off. "It's fine." I sighed again. "I always thought my parents loved each other. They were perfect for each other and I loved them both a lot. My dad had to go away on a business trip. He's a publicist and he had to travel to Texas for two weeks the day after I turned thirteen. I remembered him being so sad that he had to leave because he hated being away from my mom and I, but it was his job. So, he left and my mom and I continued with our lives." I looked up to Niall. He seemed to be still paying attention.

"Go on," he said.

"Well, I was at Liz's house one night and was going to sleep over, but we had gotten into a fight. Her mom had volunteered to drive me home, but I didn't want her to. She only lived down the street, so I just walked home. I got home that night and ran into the house. I was so upset. I was looking for my mom, but I couldn't find her anywhere. I went down the hallway to her and dads bedroom and opened the door." I took a deep breath in. "I saw her and some guy lying on the bed. They were both under the covers, naked. It was the worst thing ever."

"Wow," Niall said.

I continued. "I ran into the living room, ready to run out the door when I heard my mom running down the hallway. She was yelling at me, telling me to wait. I was so mad. I had tears streaming down my face. I couldn't believe she would do that. I waited and when she came up to me she tried telling me that it wasn't what it looked like. I knew she was lying!" I took another deep breath in I could feel the anger building inside of me. "I yelled at her. Asking how she could do this to us. To this family. To dad. I kept yelling at here. Telling her that she was a horrible person. Dad loved us and would never do anything to hurt us, unlike her. She was horrible!" I spammed my fist down onto the top of my thigh. I paused for a minute. I could tell Niall didn't know what to say. "She told me that she was sorry and that things weren't the same between them anymore. She said she needed more." I wiped my nose on the back of my hand. My eyes were starting to water. "She said she didn't love him anymore…she wasn't sorry." I stared ahead as the tears started rolling down my face. I felt a hand cover my hand that was on my leg and squeeze. I wrapped my fingers around his hand.

"I'm so sorry, Grace," said Niall. "I can't even imagine how you felt." We sat in silence for a while, our hands holding each other's. I finally looked up at Niall. He had taken his glasses off and I could see his eyes. They were red. Had he been crying? Did he really feel sorry for me?

The rest of the ride remained almost silent except for when we went through a Starbuck's drive thru. We finally arrived at the train station and I had Niall drop me off in back of the train station, that way Mel wouldn't see us. Niall got out of the car and came over to open my door. It felt good to be out of the car. Niall shut the door and stood in front of me, his hands in his pocket.

"Well, here you are," he said.

"Yup. Thank you so much, Niall. You have been such a nice person these last couple of days. I really appreciate it." I was getting ready to walk away when Niall grabbed my hand. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me.

"Here, love. It's my number. I'm sure I won't be going back home for a while, so call me sometime." I held the piece of paper in my hand and clutched my fist. I smiled.

"Okay, I will," I said. I figured I better do something nice for him. I slid the piece of paper into my pocket and opened my arms wide. I walked toward Niall and wrapped my hands around his neck. He smelled so good. "Really, Niall. Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done without you." I felt his arms grip me around my waist. He took one of his hands and slowly slid it up and down my back.

"It's really no problem, love. You were great company." I got ready to pull away when Niall tilted his head and softly kissed me on the cheek.

I blushed as I dropped my hands from his neck. "Bye, Niall." I walked away.

I pulled myself together and turned the corner of the train station and walked inside. I saw Mel and waved. She looked annoyed. "Look, Mel. I'm so sorry about the train and everything. It's been a mess."

Mel didn't say anything. She still looked annoyed.

"Mel, I really am sor…" she cut me off.

"Save it, Grace. Who the hell was that guy?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What the hell were you even thinking? You were being completely stupid!" I look straight ahead through the windshield as I was being yelled at. I had told Mel about Niall and everything that had happened. I don't think she had ever been this mad at me before. "What do you think could have happened, Grace? He could have hurt you! You didn't even know him! What if he would have done something to you? He could have killed you, Grace! Did you ever think about that?"

This is why I didn't want to tell anyone about the last two days. This is how everyone would have reacted.

"Do your dad and Amber even know what went on?"

I shook my head. "No, Mel, they don't and they won't know. It's none of their business." I looked at Mel who shook her head as she turned on to my street and up to the front of my house "Please, Mel. Don't tell them or anyone. I know that it was a huge risk, but I'm okay. He was a nice guy and everything is okay. I can just forget about it."

Mel turned her head to look at me. "Sure, whatever, Grace." I slide out of her car and barely got the door shut before she drove off. Great. She was mad. I walked up the sidewalk and into the house.

"Grace! You're home!" I turned to see my dad standing in the kitchen with Amber.

"Hi, dad," I said as I walked over to give him a kiss on the cheek. He pulled me in for one of his dad hugs.

"It's about time you're home! Did you and Mel have fun?"

I pulled out from his hug and looked up and smiled. "Yea, dad, we did." I looked over at Amber who was giving me a forced smile. I forced myself to give her a fake smile back.

"So, Grace, how was this concert?" Amber asked.

"Really good," I replied. "Just a bunch of drugs and alcoholics everywhere. Best time of my life."

"That's not funny, Grace." I looked over at my dad and gave him a cheeky grin.

"I know." I turned to head down the hall to my room. I walked in a tossed my purse on my bed. What a crazy couple of days. Who would have known that I would have ended up staying the night in an Irish man's hotel room? I felt my phone vibrate from inside my purse. It was a text from Liz.

"Hey! Are you back in town yet!?"

"Hey Liz! Yea, I'm back! You should come over tonight! I have a ton of pictures to show you!"

"Sounds good! I'll be over at seven! Wanna order pizza?"

"haha sure. See ya then! "

I closed my phone and threw myself onto my bed. At least Liz and Karen are still talking to me. I just hoped Mel wasn't going to tell them. I kind of need my friends here. I pulled one of my throw blankets from my on top of me and snuggled into my pillow.

I opened my eyes and starred at my wall. I had fallen asleep. I tuned onto my back and rubbed my eyes. I lay on my back while staring at my ceiling, breathing in and out slowly. I reached onto my bedside table and grabbed my phone to check the time. Six-thirty. Liz was going to be coming over soon. I checked my messages. My inbox was empty. I sat up in bed and flung my legs onto the floor. I stood up and opened my bedroom door to go down the hallways when I heard my dad and Amber down the hall.

"She's just showing up? When?"

"She'll be here Wednesday. I don't see what the big deal is, Jay."

"Amber, it would have been nice to have a little heads up." I wonder what was going on. I made my way down the hallway to the living room where my dad and Amber were.

"What are you two arguing about?" I asked as I tossed myself onto the couch. My dad sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Amber's mother is going to be coming on Wednesday to stay with us for a few days."

"I still don't see what the bug deal is! It's not like she's going to be living here."

Amber's mother was coming? The only thing worse than the demon herself was the mother. "Wednesday? That's in two days." I didn't want her mother coming. First I had to worry about Mel, now this woman who hated me just as much as Amber does.

"Calm down, Grace," Amber said as she glared at me.

"We'll just have to try and make it work," my dad said as he threw his hands in the air. "Anyways, Grace, what did you want to do for dinner?"

"Oh, Liz is coming over tonight and we're ordering pizza," I replied.

"Okay, that's fine," my dad said as he smiled at me and walked out of the living room.

"You know, Grace," Amber said as I turned to face her. "You could try to make the best of this for my mother. You're always a smartass and rude to her. Maybe you could learn some manners before then?"

"Yea, I probably could. But that would mean I'd actually have to talk to your mother in order to learn some manners and I don't plan on communicating with her at all." Where the fuck did Amber get the nerve to tell me to get manners?

"Grace, let me tell yo…," the opening of the front door cut her off.

"Oops. Looks like we'll have to finish this conversation in hell," I said as I got up from the couch and greeted Liz.

'"Hey, girl," Liz said smiling.

"Let's get the heck out of here," I said as I led Liz to my room.

"Liz, I would appreciate it if you use the doorbell next time. I wouldn't walk into your house without knocking," Amber yelled down the hall.

"I wouldn't want you in my house anyways," Liz said under her breath. I laughed. We settled into my room.

"What kind of pizza do you want?" I asked as I started dialing the number.

"Hawaiian is good for me," Liz replied. I held the receiver up to my ear. I order Liz and me pizza. I hung up the phone. "So," said Liz, "how was the concert?"

"It was absolutely amaz…" my door opened and my dad popped his head in.

"Amber and I are going to grab dinner."

"Okay, dad," I said. He shut my door and walked away.

"Let's go to the living room and talk while we wait," I told Liz as I got up and opened my bedroom door.

Liz and I made ourselves comfortable in the living room while we waited for our pizza. "So, you were saying?" said Liz.

"It was so amazing! The band was amazing and everything!" Liz smiled.

"I can't believe you went there all alone! How was the train ride there and back?"

"Good," I said. Liz was my longest and best friend, but I couldn't tell her about Niall. "It was long, but smooth."

"I can't believe that you actually went. I told my dad about you going alone and he flipped shit. He couldn't believe that your dad let you go alone or even go at all!" Liz's dad was like my second father. He was one of the sweetest, yet sternest men I've ever met. He spoiled Liz like crazy, especially after her brother died. He loved his kids and wanted them to be happy, but he made sure they stayed in order.

I laughed. 'Well, your dad had nothing to worry about. I'm fine," I said as I smiled. I heard the doorbell rang and my eyes lit up. Pizza! Liz and I got up and headed to open the door.

"Hi did you order two….shit," the pizza man cut off. It wasn't just a random pizza man; it was Pete, Karen's ex.

"Pete? What the hell are you doing delivering pizza?" Liz asked.

"I needed to get a second job, okay?" pizza said handing us the boxes of pizza.

"Yea, I bet because taking care of a gold-digging hussy rally drains the wallet," Liz said back. So sassy.

"Ha-Ha-Ha," Pete said in a mocking voice. "That'll be $15.60." I handed Pete the money. "Tip?," he asked.

"Fuck no," Liz laughed as she slammed the door in Pete's face. We took the pizza boxes into the living room and sat them on the floor.

"Movie?" I asked Liz.

"Sure! Wait, isn't Pep Town on tonight?"

"Shit, it is!" I quickly turned to the station just as the show was started. Liz and I spent the night watching one of our favorite shows and eating pizza, wasting our night away.


End file.
